Most Talked about Parties

All in the Family

When Imran Khan tied the knot with Avantika Malik,his famous mamu,Aamir Khan,threw a lavish party. With wife Kiran Rao by his side,he played the gracious host to leading sportsmen,businessmen,bureaucrats and politicians. Held at Mumbai’s Taj Land’s End on February 5,the evening saw cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali make a rare appearance. Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan,too,dropped in,though at different times. It was,however,the wheelchair-bound Shammi Kapoor who had all cameras on him when he came to bless the newly-weds.

On Song

Formula One turned out to be more than just a sports event thanks to the after-parties hosted by Arjun Rampal and AD Singh. Lady Gaga’s gig at the F1 closing party was its biggest draw,despite tickets selling for Rs 40,000. Clad in a Tarun Tahiliani outfit,she introduced her latest single,Marry the Night,and then belted out Bad Romance,Poker Face and Edge of Glory. Her power-packed performance mesmerised the audience,including Rampal’s celeb friends — Shah Rukh Khan,Gauri Khan,Preity Zinta,Deepika Padukone and Sussanne Roshan.

The Big Fat Punjabi Wedding

Sheila and Munni gyrated under one roof in March. It was made possible at the wedding reception of Kanwar Diler,brother-in-law of a Punjab minister,Parminder Singh Dhindsa. This bash was held at the Baikunth Farms,12 km from Chandigarh. More than 4,000 guests dug into Italian,Indian,Moroccan,Thai and Chinese spreads with gold-plated cutlery even as Katrina Kaif and Malaika Arora Khan danced. This teen crore ki shaadi was attended by Dharmendra and Dara Singh,Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal,among others.

An Evening with Paris

Within a few hours of her first solo show at a bridal fashion week,jewellery designer Queenie Singh was welcoming guests at her September 24 party for socialite and designer Paris Hilton. The city’s glam set,including Sushmita Sen,Kangna Ranaut and Bipasha Basu,poured into JW Marriott,Mumbai. The dampner of the evening was Paris’ four-hour delay. But when she finally walked in,accompanied by stylist Rocky S,the party livened up.

Shake it like Shakira

KP Singh’s 80th birthday spelt luxury from the word go. The real estate mogul brought in his birthday on November 15 at Udaipur’s Jagmandir,an island on Lake Pichola. While actor Kabir Bedi played the emcee,singer Adnan Sami set the tone for the evening with his soulful performance. But,it was Latin singing sensation Shakira who sent the temperatures soaring; so much so that even the likes of Sunil Bharti Mittal,CEO of Bharti Enterprises,Hero Motocorp’s Pawan Munjal,and international tennis player Martina Navratilova swayed to the tunes of her chartbusters Hips Don’t Lie and Waka Waka.

The Golden Lining

When industrialist Rahul Bajaj and wife Rupa invited a select 400 guests to their residence in Akurdi,Pune,to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on December 16,it instantly became the talk of the town. Industrialist Sajjan Jindal and Pune’s swish set that comprised Atul and Sanjay Kirloskar,and Cyrus Poonawalla joined the golden couple in this special celebration. As did politicos Sharad Pawar,Praful Patel and Arun Jaitley. “It was an extra-special celebration because it was in our hometown,” said Bajaj,whose family put together a 12-minute audio-visual of the couple.

Starry Cruise

When Tom Cruise visited India for the first time to promote his film Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol,the onus was on his co-star Anil Kapoor to show how Bollywood parties. A day before the film’s special screening for the Mumbai fans,the film industry’s crème de la crème showed up at the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers on December 3 to hobnob with the Top Gun star and raise a toast to India’s newest Hollywood connection.

Calling on the King

ON December 11,the mood that reigned in Dilip Kumar’s home was one of pure joy. The veteran actor and his wife Saira Banu had a pomp-filled celebration of his 89th birthday. Bollywood A-listers turned up in droves to wish him. Leading the pack was the Bachchan khandaan,minus Aishwarya. The three ruling Khans of Bollywood — Salman,Aamir and Shah Rukh — also dropped in,although separately. Shah Rukh even made Priyanka Chopra and Saira Banu break into a congratulatory jig. A rare sight was Dimple Kapadia walking in with estranged husband Rajesh Khanna.